Iolo Goch (c. 1320 – c. 1398) (meaning ''Iolo the Red'' in
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
) was a medieval
Welsh
Welsh may refer to:
Related to Wales
* Welsh, referring or related to Wales
* Welsh language, a Brittonic Celtic language spoken in Wales
* Welsh people
People
* Welsh (surname)
* Sometimes used as a synonym for the ancient Britons (Celtic peop ...
bard
In Celtic cultures, a bard is a professional story teller, verse-maker, music composer, oral historian and genealogist, employed by a patron (such as a monarch or chieftain) to commemorate one or more of the patron's ancestors and to praise t ...
who composed poems addressed to
Owain Glyndŵr
Owain ap Gruffydd (), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (, anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander who led a 15 year long Welsh War of Independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wa ...
, among others.
Lineage
Iolo was the son of Ithel Goch ap Cynwrig ap Iorwerth Ddu ap Cynwrig Ddewis Herod ap Cywryd and was born in the manor of Lleweni in the
Vale of Clwyd
The Vale of Clwyd ( cy, Dyffryn Clwyd) is a tract of low-lying ground in the county of Denbighshire in north-east Wales. The Vale extends south-southwestwards from the coast of the Irish Sea for some 20 miles (about 30 km) forming a triangl ...
where his father rented a small portion of the family's ancient patrimony, possessed a dwelling house and also rented small parcels of land belonging to the manors of Llechryd and Berain, near
Denbigh
Denbigh (; cy, Dinbych; ) is a market town and a community in Denbighshire, Wales. Formerly, the county town, the Welsh name translates to "Little Fortress"; a reference to its historic castle. Denbigh lies near the Clwydian Hills.
History
...
. A local 19th-century source says Iolo lived at a certain "Coed y Pantwn in Llechryd".
George Borrow
George Henry Borrow (5 July 1803 – 26 July 1881) was an English writer of novels and of travel based on personal experiences in Europe. His travels gave him a close affinity with the Romani people of Europe, who figure strongly in his work. Hi ...
refers to this but mislocates it in the upper Clwyd valley.
[Borrow, George H. ''Wild Wales: Its People, Language and Scenery'' (1934), p. 61, Oxford University Press] There is no medieval evidence for the local tradition.
Patrons
He is notable as one of the finest exponents of the metrical form known as the ''
cywydd
The cywydd (; plural ) is one of the most important metrical forms in traditional Welsh poetry (cerdd dafod).
There are a variety of forms of the cywydd, but the word on its own is generally used to refer to the ("long-lined couplet") as it is b ...
''. He composed poems to a number of Welsh noblemen, notably to his chief patron
Ithel ap Robert, an
archdeacon of St Asaph
This is a list of the archdeacons of St Asaph. The Archdeacon of St Asaph is the priest in charge of the archdeaconry of St Asaph, an administrative division of the Church in Wales Diocese of St Asaph. The archdeaconry comprises the five rural dea ...
who lived near
Caerwys
Caerwys is a town in Flintshire, Wales. It is just under two miles from the A55 road, A55 North Wales Expressway and one mile from the A541 road, A541 Mold, Flintshire, Mold-Denbigh road. At the United Kingdom Census 2001, 2001 Census, the popula ...
, and also a poem to King
Edward III of England
Edward III (13 November 1312 – 21 June 1377), also known as Edward of Windsor before his accession, was King of England and Lord of Ireland from January 1327 until his death in 1377. He is noted for his military success and for restoring ro ...
, which shows a detailed knowledge of places and battles in
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
,
Ireland
Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...
and
France
France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...
during this period and possibly written in 1347.
One of his three poems composed for
Owain Glyndŵr
Owain ap Gruffydd (), commonly known as Owain Glyndŵr or Glyn Dŵr (, anglicised as Owen Glendower), was a Welsh leader, soldier and military commander who led a 15 year long Welsh War of Independence with the aim of ending English rule in Wa ...
includes
a vivid description of Owain's hall at
Sycharth
Sycharth is a motte and bailey castle and town in Llansilin, Powys, Wales. Until 1996 Sycharth was in the historic county of Denbighshire, but was then transferred to the Shire area of Montgomeryshire within Powys. Sycharth Castle was the bi ...
. They were clearly composed before Owain's rebellion. He also composed a notable poem known as ''
Y Llafurwr'' ("The Labourer").
See also
Iolo Goch at Wikisource*
Medieval Welsh literature
Medieval Welsh literature is the literature written in the Welsh language during the Middle Ages. This includes material starting from the 5th century AD, when Welsh was in the process of becoming distinct from Common Brittonic, and continuing t ...
References
*Meic Stephens (ed) ''Companion to Welsh literature'' (University of Wales Press)
External links
Welsh Dictionary of National Biography
1320s births
1390s deaths
Welsh-language poets
People from Denbighshire
14th-century Welsh poets
{{Wales-writer-stub